1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to automatic, premise-monitoring alarm systems as for example burglary or burglary/fire alarm systems, and more particularly to network and circuit configurations for alarm system operations as will be apparent in connection with the discussion further below of preferred embodiments and examples.
2. Prior Art
Premise-monitoring alarm systems monitor a given protected premisexe2x80x94say, for example, a residential home, a commercial property, a bank vault, or an ATM machine and the likexe2x80x94for the occurrence of a given alarm event:xe2x80x94e.g., an unwanted intrusion, unauthorized entry or smoke and so on. Some alarm events simply correspond to a xe2x80x9clow batteryxe2x80x9d condition in either the alarm-event sensors or else the protected-premise controller/control panel. Upon detection of a given alarm event, the controller signals the alarm event to a pre-determined receiving site(s), which traditionally has been a central alarm-monitoring station. In the traditional case, the central alarm-monitoring station, which may be a public or private service, may manually process the signal by an attendant who can dispatch police or fire-fighters or alert the property-owners or take whatever other steps are appropriate. Prior art automatic alarm systems have typically transmitted their message traffic over standard voice-grade telephone lines.
FIG. 1 shows an alarm system configuration 50 in accordance with the prior art. This alarm system configuration includes video surveillance by means of camera 52. In FIG. 1, the example protected premise features a certain door 54. This door may be assumed to be a front door to a bank lobby or the like. The door may see heavy traffic during business hours. But after closing time or later, perhaps this door is intended to lock out all but a highly select few who have been given pre-assigned privileges to use the door during the very latest hours.
FIG. 1 includes representation of a guard shack 56. For this bank, it keeps a security guard 58 posted at the shack perhaps twenty-four hours, all seven days of the week. Presumptively, the guard shack is the central receiving site for multiple other alarm controllers, although the drawing shows just one controller 60. Also, presumptively, each alarm controller 60 is linked with multiple sensors, although again the drawing shows just one sensor 62. The protection of this door 54 might be sensitive enough that it justifies video monitoring as well.
The upper half of FIG. 1 provides a sample event table. In this table, a typical sequence of events might comprise the following. At some original time, the door is closed, the controller is armed, the sensor and camera are active, and the guard shack is staffed by a given guard (eg., xe2x80x9cuserxe2x80x9d). The guard shack is provided with a video monitoring system 64 which includes among other things, one or more monitors, a video tape recorder 66, and a switch 68. The switch is used as follows. Perhaps the guard shack has an array of monitors, but perhaps also the guard shack is linked with tenfold as many cameras 62 as it has monitors. These multiple other camera links are shown in the drawing by reference numeral 72 (although the other cameras are not shown). Thus the guard cannot perpetually monitor the channel of all the cameras simultaneously. The guard must flip between channels. Indeed, the VMS 64 is likely to have an automatic sequencer that sequences through the channels of all the relevant cameras. Alternatively, the guard can of course preempt the sequencer and tune in on the channel of a specified camera as the guard wishes. With the foregoing in mind, it is assumed that, at the original time when the door 54 is closed, the guard is switched to channels other than this camera 52 shown by FIG. 1.
At event no. 1, the door opens. The motion sensor 62 detects this event. It signals the controller 60 over a copper wire connection 74. At event no. 2, the controller has started its response. The controller sends a control signal to the local VTR 76 over copper wire 78 to begin recording. The local VTR 76 responds to the control signal and switches ON, however the VTR 76 is linked to the camera by co-axial cable 78. The controller 60 concurrently counts out its pre-set delay time. That is, authorized users might be given twenty (20) seconds to get through the door 54 and over to the controller 60 to enter a password or code. Without a timely entry of an authorized password or code, the controller at event no. 4 signals the guard shack of the prospective alarm event. The link between the controller and guard shack might be achieved by a standard voice grade telephone line 80.
At event no. 5, the guard switches into the channel of this camera. To tune into this camera 52, the guard shack switch must have a co-axial link 82/78 extending directly back all the way to the camera 52 (more accurately, there is a hop at the local VTR 76). Indeed, the switch might be fed the co-axial infeeds of dozens if not hundreds of other cameras. Again, such other infeeds are indicated by reference numeral 72. Logistically, such an expansive grid of co-axial cable 72/78/82 represents substantial resources in installation and maintenance. By event no. 6, the guard begins his or her analysis of the situation, including by transmitting instructions to the camera vis-a-vis the controller, such as pan, zoom, or tilt and so on (hereinafter more simply referenced as PZT). Event no. 7 et seq. show that further analysis continues, with the controller 60 relaying the guard""s instructions to the camera. The guard has likely begun recording with the guard shack VTR 66 as well.
There are various shortcomings associated with the prior art configuration(s) of combined alarm monitoring and video surveillance. Installing and maintaining the co-axial cable is costly. Preferably, the guard shack is rather centrally located among the distributed cameras. Cost factors in many cases limit the serviceable distance between the guard shack and any of its cameras it services. There is little economy in having one guard shack in a region service diverse remote properties. The logistics of carrying video signals over co-axial cable virtually proscribe one guard shack per property. Also, once a guard shack site has been chosen, and wired up, it is costly to change that choice and move the guard shack. It is also costly to establish a redundant site(s) as for either back-up purposes or joint analysis purposes by users at various ones of the remote sites simultaneously.
Also, the video data travels over special co-axial cables whereas the command signals travel over other hardwired paths, but not the co-axial cables. Hence there are redundant paths extending between the camera and most devices it feeds video to and/or receives commands from.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to overcome these and other shortcomings of the prior art and provide improved networks and circuits for alarm system operations. Additional aspects and objects of the invention will be apparent in connection with the discussion further below of preferred embodiments and examples.
It is an object of the invention to provide remote online utilization of video data for analysis of potential alarm events.
It is another object of the invention to merge IP telephony with premise-protecting control panels that only have voice-grade aural signal communication ability.
It is an alternate object of the invention to provide remote consolidated printer services to a distributed community of premise-protecting control panels.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide remote panel programming capability from anywhere a network connection can be made and thereby service any of the distributed community of premise-protecting control panels.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a 2-way radio link between a given battery-powered alarm-event sensor and a given premise-protecting control panel in order to cut down the signal emissions from the sensor and thereby save the drain on battery power.
These and other aspects and objects are provided according to the invention in a method of remote online utilization of video data for analysis of potential alarm events in an automatic alarm system. This last-mentioned method comprising aspects of the following. At least one sensor is provided on a protected premise with a signal response in cases of sensing a sensible event. At least one premise-protecting control panel is in communication with the sensor and provided with a message response in some or all cases of sensor signals. At least one remote receiver is provided for receiving the message traffic of the control panel.
An inventive aspect relates to providing at least one camera device in combination with the sensor for acquiring video data allowing further analysis into the matter of a given sensible event. A communications network allows linking at least the camera device and receiver for communications. The camera device is configured with stateless network communication protocols and server processing wherein the camera device provides network service of video data upon a network request. Correspondingly, the receiver is configured with compatible stateless network communication protocols and then also browser processing wherein a user at the receiver can transmit network requests to the camera device for network service of said video data. The foregoing achieves remote online analysis of the video data in the matter of the given sensible event.
Preferably the stateless network communication protocols can be chosen from open protocols including HTTP. That way, the communications network may include at least in part the Internet. This method of online utilization of video data allows a plurality of remote user sites to link up to the network and thereby request network service of the video data by communicating at least in part over the Internet. The network requests submitted by the receiver (or any of the remote users) can include pan, zoom and tilt instructions. The camera and sensor may either be different devices or the same device.
Additional aspects and objects of the invention will be apparent in connection with the discussion further below of preferred embodiments and examples.